Frankie Animal – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the indie rock band, Frankie Animal, share what they do before every show. You can check out their rituals, after the break.

Typically a show day starts for us at soundcheck. Anything before that may vary but this is when things fall into a routine. We set our gear up, check our instruments, play through a couple of songs and this is where our first ritual comes in. We’re all a bit on the superstitious side and a general rule-of-thumb is that a perfect soundcheck means bad news for the show. So a broken string or cable, terrible monitor sound or a bass-guitar that’s been left at the previous venue (yes, that’s happened) could all benefit to a great concert. A few of us have even sabotaged their own sound in hope of a better live. Don’t know whether it worked or not, though…

Next up we grab something to eat. A humble budget usually limits us to some fast food or a pasta and getting the amount right here is crucial. You might be playing the coolest music at the coolest venue in the world but most of your charms are lost when your jumping around with a stuffed belly and the occasional pizza-burp. Over time we’ve really become masters of our own stomachs.

Show-mode really turns on once we make it back to the venue. This is when Marie – the singer usually disappears for an hour to dress up. Her activities are usually accompanied by howling sounds that the others have come to know as vocal warm-up exercises. The boys usually crack jokes and have a few drinks and try to all get into the same vibe and on the same wavelength. This is also the final downtime before the show.

The final thing we do before stepping on stage is something called “the Ninja game”. It’s this game where you all stand in a circle and hold your hands up. You can only make one motion at a time and your task is to hit the hand of the person standing next to you (with the other trying to get out of way) and you have to stand perfectly still between turns. This is a fun one. Really helps you focus and build a sense of unity.

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